Imprisoned PKK Leader Öcalan Calls for ‘Peace Law’ to End Violence

WISE NEWS PRESS / BURSA, TURKEY — DEC. 3, 2025

Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), has issued a call for a comprehensive "Peace Law" following a rare meeting with a political delegation, stating that such a legal framework is essential to removing political violence and anti-democratic interventions from Turkey's agenda.

The message was conveyed through an "Imrali delegation" consisting of Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) MPs Pervin Buldan, Mithat Sancar, and lawyer Faik Özgür Erol, who met with Öcalan for approximately four hours on Tuesday, Dec. 2.

A Framework for a 'Century of Peace'

In a statement released on Wednesday, the delegation relayed Öcalan's warnings against attempts to "sabotage the process." Öcalan emphasized the necessity of a unique and holistic legal structure during this transitional period.

"With the realization of a peace law based on unique and holistic law in the transition process we are in, the phenomenon of political violence and anti-democratic intervention will be removed from Turkey's agenda," Öcalan stated. He suggested this could also be termed a "law for transition to a century of peace."

Referencing a previous statement on Feb. 27 regarding disarmament and the dissolution of the organization, Öcalan noted that those steps were "guiding" principles. "All steps taken in this direction are clear expressions of the responsibility we have taken and our goal of living together in brotherhood on these lands," he added.

Democratic Participation and 'Coup Mechanics'

Öcalan stressed that all segments of society wishing to make the right choice in governance must contribute to a democratic solution. He defined the process as "a process of construction with social unity" and emphasized ensuring Kurdish participation in the republic through legal means.

He also addressed rising opposition rhetoric, likening it to a "coup mechanic as a habitus." According to Öcalan, this should be understood not as a classic military coup, but as an effort to create a fragile environment by countering every step taken to advance the peace process.

"Today, these circles act as carriers of non-normative powers. On the other hand, a political and social will to overcome the coup tradition... is also strengthening," Öcalan remarked.

Political Tensions: The 'Stockholm Syndrome' Polemic

The call for peace comes amidst heightened political tension between the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and the DEM Party. CHP Leader Özgür Özel recently criticized the DEM Party for its perceived closeness to the ruling government, warning against "Stockholm Syndrome" and "falling in love with your executioner".

DEM Party Co-Chair Tülay Hatimoğulları responded sharply to these comments. "We know the executioner very, very well. We know him from our burned villages... from unsolved murders, torture, and prisons," she said, describing Özel's remarks as an "eclipse of reason". She clarified that their engagement with the ruling AK Party and its ally MHP is solely to push for equal citizenship and democratic transformation.

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